NFC title game decided by seven points or fewer in each of last six contests, longest streak in conference championship game history. Three of those in OT, including 49ers’ 20-17 loss to Giants after 2011 season.

Seattle played eight games decided by seven points or fewer, and San Francisco five.

Seahawks have outscored 49ers 71-16 and forced seven turnovers in last two wins at home.

Kaepernick is 4-1 in the postseason as starter, tied for third-best among all QBs in Super Bowl era with minimum of five starts. He can become second QB to win initial four road playoff starts, joining Jake Delhomme.

WR Michael Crabtree didn’t play in Sept. 15 game while still recovering from May surgery on torn right Achilles tendon.

San Francisco first team in NFL history to have at least one 100-yard receiver in seven straight postseason games.

Jim Harbaugh first coach in NFL’s modern era to lead team to NFC championship in each of first three years.

WR Anquan Boldin ranks No. 1 among active players with 12 career catches of 25 or more yards in postseason. Has 63 receptions for 980 yards and seven TDs in 13 playoff games.

49ers LB Ahmad Brooks has 41⁄2 sacks this postseason. No player has more than six in a single postseason since sacks became official statistic in 1982. With two more sacks, Brooks would pass Richard Dent, Michael McCrary and LaMarr Woodley for most in single postseason.

Crabtree has second-most yards receiving (436) and is tied for second-most touchdowns (3) in playoffs since 2012.

49ers hope to have CB Carlos Rogers back after missing first two playoff games with strained right hamstring.

Seahawks have won six straight home playoff games and 16 of last 17 home games overall.

Wilson’s 24 victories and 15 home wins in first two seasons are most in Super Bowl era.

Including postseason, Wilson has career 110.7 passer rating at home.

RB Marshawn Lynch rushed for franchise playoff record 140 yards vs. Saints, his first 100-yard game since Week 10. In five career playoff games, Lynch has five touchdowns rushing and three 100-yard games.

WR Doug Baldwin has three TDs in past three home games vs. 49ers.

Rookie LG Michael Bowie started vs. Saints, his third position on offensive line this season.

Seahawks had five sacks of Kaepernick in two games this season.

DE Michael Bennett had two forced fumbles and fumble recovery vs. Saints; first Seahawks player with two forced fumbles in playoff game. Bennett led Seahawks with 8½ sacks in regular season.

CB Richard Sherman has two interceptions and 90-yard blocked-field goal return for TD in past two home games vs. 49ers. He led NFL with eight INTs this season.

Seattle's offense has slumped in recent weeks, but it also has made big plays when needed. RB Marshawn Lynch is Gore's counterpart and comes off a great game vs. New Orleans: 140 yards and two touchdowns. He's a similar-type runner and when in “Beast Mode,” he's as tough as they come.

Then again, so is San Francisco's run defense, led by do-everything tackle/end Justin Smith and linebackers NaVorro Bowman, an All-Pro, Patrick Willis and Ahmad Brooks. The Niners aren't quite as deep up front as Seattle, but they make up for it with the NFL's top linebacking corps.

Coach Pete Carroll is most comfortable when Lynch is on the loose, which makes things much easier for QB Russell Wilson. If the 49ers can control Lynch, who averaged 105 yards rushing at home against them, it puts a heavy onus on Wilson, whose passing numbers have been pedestrian recently.

Wilson, of course, is like Kaepernick with his escapability. While not as fast as Kaepernick, Wilson is more elusive and keeps passing plays alive with his uncanny scrambling. That's something 49ers DBs Tramaine Brock, Eric Reid, Donte Whitner and, if he's recovered from a hamstring problem, Carlos Rogers must be aware of at all times.

Like San Francisco, Seattle prides itself on an unrelenting physical offensive line. It's anchored by center Max Unger and tackle Russell Okung, but it's also deep because injuries forced backups into action all season.

Where the Seahawks don't equal the 49ers on offense is at receiver. There's not a lot of star power there, especially if Percy Harvin can't go because of concussion symptoms.Still, don't underestimate the hands of Doug Baldwin, the moves and quickness of Golden Tate or the steadiness of TE Zach Miller.

San Francisco runs the ball as well as anyone left in the playoffs, with RB Frank Gore as the focal point, but QB Colin Kaepernick is the wild card. The 49ers will try to establish something on the ground immediately behind a strong line led by left tackle Joe Staley and guard Mike Iupati. That means plenty of Gore inside and even a bit outside, and Kaepernick using his speed – unmatched by any quarterback in the league – to get to the edge.

But Gore has struggled at Seattle, and the Seahawks command the line of scrimmage as well as any team, even San Francisco. They ranked seventh at stopping the run, with huge tackle Brandon Mebane clogging the running lanes. Seattle’s other D-linemen, particularly Red Bryant and Michael Bennett, are versatile and rugged.

If the 49ers can’t get the rushing game going, it lets Seahawks linebackers Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin get even more involved. It also means Bennett, DEs Chris Clemons, Cliff Avril and Irvin will be more of a threat in the passing attack, although trapping and sacking Kaepernick is no easy chore.

Kaepernick struggled mightily in the Niners’ 29-3 loss at Seattle in September and has performed poorly at CenturyLink Field in both of his appearances. He’s a more mature player now and is 3-0 in road playoff games.

To get to 4-0 might require more use of his arm than coach Jim Harbaugh prefers. And that’s where the most intriguing matchups of this game will occur: San Francisco’s receivers against Seattle’s secondary.

WR Anquan Boldin helped Baltimore beat the 49ers in last year’s Super Bowl, and he has had a superb season. Since WR Michael Crabtree returned from a torn Achilles tendon, the 49ers haven’t lost, including a win over Seattle, and their air game has risen to another level. Throw in Vernon Davis, the best deep threat in the league among tight ends, and the Seahawks’ terrific group of DBs will be heavily challenged.

All-Pros CB Richard Sherman and S Earl Thomas are elite in coverage and will make for a juicy encounter with San Francisco’s receivers. Sherman led the league with eight interceptions, Thomas had five. The other starting safety, Kam Chancellor, is almost as good, especially standing out in run defense, and CB Byron Maxwell has been a real find since Brandon Browner was suspended by the NFL.

No real big edges here unless Harvin is healthy – he's a gamebreaker on returns. Tate probably is the next-best weapon on either side running back kicks.

Both sides treasure the reliability of their kickers. San Francisco brought in veteran PK Phil Dawson as a free agent after David Akers flopped last season. Dawson has excelled, and he beat Green Bay in the wild-card round with a final-second field goal through the frigid night air. Punter Andy Lee has been a perennial Pro Bowler.

Seattle counters with PK Steven Hauschka, who also has had a topnotch season, and Jon Ryan, who regularly buries punts deep in opponent's territory.

Harbaugh and Carroll have no love lost, dating to when they were at Stanford and Southern Cal and Harbaugh ran up the score, prompting Carroll to ask him, “What's your deal?”

Harbaugh's deal has been winning like no coach in San Francisco since Bill Walsh. This is the Niners' third straight trip to the NFC title game under him. He exudes confidence and, yes, arrogance, and it works for the 49ers.

Carroll's nonstop exuberance rubs off on his players, and no team is more aggressive, especially on defense, which is Carroll's specialty. He had some success in a previous head coaching stint with the Patriots, then went to USC and, since returning to the pros, Carroll has done a brilliant job turning the Seahawks into a championship contender.

Playing in the same division means both sides are deeply familiar with each other; there won't be many secrets on display here.

That the Niners have struggled in the Pacific Northwest is, well, tangible: They were outscored 71-16 in their last two visits, Harbaugh's two worst losses. They're an experienced outfit in pressure situations, though, so the supersonic noise from the 12th Man in the stands shouldn't affect them.